City Planning Definition:

This is one of the recent field which came into existence some decades ago and is yet to find its independent position. It is often confused and mixed with architecture, civil engineering, geography and sociology because of its roots coming from the respective discipline. It is yet to be acknowledged and accepted that City Planning is an independent field on its own.

The confusion arise because of the nature of work and academics involved in making on a “Planner”. A well-known statement about planners is that a “Planners are jack of all trades, master of none”, it perfectly describes role of a planner but is somewhat contradictory and portrays negative image of the profession as some think only “masters & experts” can solve the problems.

This notion needs to change as having a diverse knowledge and experience is far more crucial than the in depth knowledge. The fine details are crucial but identification of the problem is necessary to put the expertise in use. That’s where planners into play.

Now, let’s watch the below video in order to know “What does a Town Planner do?” in less than 4 minuets.

Why do we need to study city planning?

Cities are no longer simply places for people to live. They are no less than an organism and each unique in its own. The complexity keeps on increasing day by day and each attempt to understand then unveils something new.

This complexity is further fueled by the technological changes which drives the growth of cities. Retrofitting by using the latest technology results in something which was never seen before thus requiring more and in depth study.

When we hear the name of any well-known city like London, Delhi, Mumbai, Paris, Washington DC, San Francisco etc, the first thought that cross our mind is nowhere related to the “place for living” but rather the city life, architectural marvels, some peculiar built form, power, brands come to our mind. This supports the fact that cities are much more than their dictionary definition.

These complex forms needs number of people to keep them in good form. All the vehicles needs to be kept moving, security needs to be at best, basic facilities like water, electricity needs to be provided 24×7, jobs needs to be created, identity needs to be formed and at times a brand to be created; All this would have not been possible without “City Planning”.

Planners work in diverse fields and use their dissimilar knowledge to link all everything which keeps happening in the city. All inter linked and interdependent elements and networks needs to be understood. The effect of one on another needs to be thought of for a city to function efficiently.

City planning thus deals with basic yet most critical information about each system. These include transportation, social and physical infrastructure, housing, sociology, economic among many other. This one of a kind education of planners helps in overall planning for city or “City Planning”.

About Shubham Aggarwal

Founder of PlanningTank is Urban Planner from India working to improve the human settlements through the website. PlanningTank is the Urban, Regional, and Rural Planning Knowledge base which provides insight into to urban and rural areas. It focuses on educating, engaging and developing the community.